Carpe Diem: Seizing opportunity after 2017’s lowland storms

It doesn’t snow at sea level in the Pacific Northwest every year, so when storms blanketed Bellingham for days at a time last winter, skiers and snowboarders took advantage.

For some that meant getting in a couple turns on a thin layer of packed snow on a residential street, edges sparking against asphalt. Others took to rails, built jumps, and got chased out by security guards. When will it happen again? Maybe this year; maybe not for another decade.

Cam Hamilton takes flight in the Chuckanuts. Brad Andrew photo.Splitboard aficionado Frankie Devlin summited Denali twice last summer, but he’s not afraid to take it to the streets. He did a lipslide on this rail and 270’d out the hard way as freezing rain started to fall. Brad Andrew photo.Ethyn Frost and his dog Aspen enjoying a new blanket of snow in Bellingham in early February. Dylan Luder photo.“After searching for spots, our crew settled on this rail. We shoveled snow onto the landing and Jamie Baril made the best of it “- Dylan Luder